Alonso takes sly dig at Hamilton with Newey claim

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a huge blow to his Formula 1 championship chances following an Adrian Newey claim from a rival driver.

The seven-time world champion will be hoping to add a record breaking eighth world title to his trophy collection at Ferrari, but will face tough competition, not only from his team-mate Charles Leclerc, but also Red Bull and McLaren.

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Mercedes have also been tipped to join the championship fight in 2025, whilst Aston Martin will be hungry to improve on their fifth place finish in the constructors’ from 2024.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will be joined by Adrian Newey in March, who will begin his role as managing technical partner at Aston Martin and could turn the team's fortunes around.

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Can Aston Martin become title contenders?

Speaking to Diario AS, Alonso discussed how valuable Newey will be to Aston Martin’s championship chances, and claimed he will have more of an impact than Hamilton joining Ferrari.

The Spaniard named Newey as crucial to their championship chances, and if proved correct this could deliver a major blow to Hamilton’s world title campaign.

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“Adrian Newey will always have more impact than any driver,” Alonso said.

“Drivers come and go, the 20 of us here try to drive well and we have achieved things until we reach F1.

“I don't know what Hamilton will contribute or add to Ferrari, it will surely be less than what a designer can contribute.”

“Adrian is going to be a free spirit, you can't tell him what to do. The day he arrives, if he can give us a hand in 2025, fine.

“If he wants to work only in 2026, fine too. Because then he has clear ideas and doesn't want to waste a single day. I asked Lawrence [Stroll] this several times and he always tells me that he doesn't think we can control him.”

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